IPL9 - Virat Kohli posts his 3rd century to set up a record

Virat Kohli, captain of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) has set a new batting record in the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. He became the first batsman in the history of IPL to score three centuries in a single edition. This has been reported in oneindia.com dated 14 May 2016.

Virat Kohli went great guns and scored 109 off only 55 balls against Gujarat Lions and registered his 3rd century in IPL 2016. The right-hander, in an incredible display of hitting, blasted 8 sixes and 5 fours. The 27-year-old had previously hit a ton against the same opponent. In Rajkot on April 24, he hit 100 not out. His second hundred (108 not out) of the tournament came against Rising Pune Supergiants on May 7. AB de Villiers too crossed the three-figure mark. The South African blazed his way to an unbeaten 129 from just 52 balls with 12 sixes and 10 fours. As a result of Kohli and De Villiers' record 229-run partnership off just 16 overs, for the 2nd wicket, RCB posted a mammoth 248/3 in 20 overs. RCB won by a record 144-run margin as Gujarat were all out for 104 in 18.4 overs.


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IPL9 - Dhoni has lost his magic touch - Pune loses to Bangalore by 13 runs

It is gradually becoming clear that M S Dhoni, the captain of Rising Pune Supergiants is losing his magic touch because it was yet another loss - this time to Royal Challengers Bangalore by 13 runs at Pune. RPS won the toss and asked RCB to bat first. The openers AB de Villiers (83) and Virat Kohli (80) posted a sizeable total of 185 for three. In reply, Ajinkya Rahane (60), MS Dhoni (41) and Thisara Perera (34) did put up fighting knocks, but ended up on the losing side - they fell short by 13 runs.
This has been reported in cricbuzz.com dated 22 April 2016.

RPS had lost the previous two matches batting first after winning the toss and their inability to put up a defend able score. This time they again won the toss and opted to field first - the result was no different. The reason - dropping a vital catch by Ravichandran Ashwin, the trusted fielder in the slips, in the first over of Ishant Sharma - Ishant had a miserable day conceding 47 runs in just 4 overs without a wicket. RCB managed to put up a huge formidable score that required more than 9 runs from the word go.
To make matters worse, RPS opener Faf DuPlessis gifted away his wicket, Kevin Pieterson twisted his ankle after facing the first ball and Steven Smith got run out trying to steal a single.
In the end, it was another loss for RPS - they are now placed at 7th position in the table of 8 teams in the IPL9 points table. Obviously, RPS has to rework its strategies and go in for a change in team composition. A B deVilliers was declared the Man of the Match.



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India evens ODI series 2-2 at Chennai – Virat Kohli hits a century

#INDvsSA #ViratKohli #abdevilliers #SureshRaina It was another interesting ODI at Chennai between South Africa and India – and, thanks to some useful batting, India managed to put up a score of 200 for 8. Virat Kohli scored a century, it was his 23rd, and that laid the foundation of a 35-run win for the home team.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 22 October 2015.

It was an innings that Virat Kohli will cherish because he was desperate to end a run of 12 completed innings without a century dating back to India's World Cup opener on March 15. It was his first against South Africa and, his 138 was key to India's series-levelling victory at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
Suresh Raina also chipped in with a 53 and appeared to have returned to form after his failures in the earlier ODIs of the series.
However, AB de Villiers could have spoiled India’s show because he also hit a century and his awe-inspiring 112 threatened to seal the series for South Africa. But, the series is now level at 2-2, with the last ODI scheduled at Mumbai – it would be a contest worth looking forward to.
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India commits hara-kiri in Kanpur – lose 1st ODI to South Africa

#INDvsSA #RohitSharma #abdevilliers #msdhoni #kanpur It was sheer hara-kiri that the Indians committed in Kanpur when the gifted away the 1st ODI of the series away to the visiting South Africans. First the home team allowed the visitors to pile up a huge 303 runs and then lost their nerve to fold up tamely – Indians lost the game by 5 runs.
This has been reported in dnaindia.com dated 11 October 2015.

Rohit Sharma (150 runs off 133 balls) made a brave effort to win despite the odds being stacked against the team but, when he left and India needed 22 off the last two overs with Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni at the crease, it was hoped that India would script a win.
But, that did not happen – and Dhoni failed to rise to the occasion. He just could not hit a sixer that could have made the difference.
Rohit Sharma's eighth ton in ODIs went in vain.
AB de Villiers scored an unbeaten 104 off 73 balls and was named the Man of the Match.
The 303 scored by South Africa was the highest score at this venue – it surpassed 294 made by the hosts in 2007.
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IPL8 – Bangalore beats Rajasthan and will now face Chennai in next round

#IPL8 #RCBvsRR #MandeepSingh #ABDeVilliers After the big names like Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli failed to deliver, Royal Challengers Bangalore still managed to defeat Rajasthan Royals to set the stage for its next encounter which will be with the Chennai Super Kings.
This was made possible by two fine knocks of AB De Villiers and Mandeep Singh. De Villiers hit a fighting 66 and shared a match-winning 113-run stand with Mandeep Singh (54 not out) to enable RCB to recover from a sluggish start to post a challenging 180/4 after electing to bat.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 20 May 2015.

In reply RR could score just 109 runs in 19 overs even though, at one time, they appeared to have had the control of the game when they had removed Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli within 8 overs. But they gave away 86 runs in the last six overs to let the game slip away. Chris Morris and James Faulkner conceded 42 runs each in their allotted overs.
AB De Villiers was named the Man of the Match.
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IPL8 – it was a de Villiers one-man show as RCB routs MI to climb to 4th spot

#IPL8 #RCBvsMI #ABdeVilliers #ViratKohli #Gayle Royal Challengers Bangalore have real good hitters in their midst and, when Chris Gayle fails to deliver, A B de Villiers emerges as the hero to sweep away the opposition. He scored 133 runs in just 59 balls and, in the company of captain Virat Kohli who chipped in with an unbeaten 82 runs, put up a huge score of 235 runs for the loss of only one wicket – that of Gayle.
A B de Villiers hit four sixes and 19 fours in his total of 133 and it was a one-man show with Kohli playing second fiddle as reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 10 May 2015.

The stand of 215 in 102 balls is, now, an all-time IPL record partnership. It has overtaken the earlier best of 206 between Adam Gilchrist and Shaun Marsh and they had put it up against RCB while they played for Kings XI Punjab in 2011 at Dharamsala.
The Mumbai Indians did stage a fight of sorts but fell short by 39 runs and, with this win, RCB move up to the 4th spot in the points table. RCB still has three games in hand and appear to be well-poised to enter the play-offs. It was a disappointment for the Mumbai crowd at the Wankhede Stadium and, if Harbhajan Singh had not dropped de Villiers when he was on 6, things might have been different but then, T20 does not believe in ifs and buts, its all about here and now.

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IPL8 – Battle of the Royals – Virat Kohli clobbers Rajasthan bowlers at Motera

#IPL8 #RCBvsRR #ViratKohli #ABDevilliers #Motera #Ahmedabad It was a battle of the Royals and Virat Kohli’s day at Motera in Ahmedabad as he clobbered the bowlers of Rajasthan Royals to all corners of the stadium to help Royal Challengers Bangalore register its second win.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 24 April 2015.

Kohli hit his second successive fifty and pacer Mitchell Starc picked up three wickets as Royal Challengers Bangalore beat the opponents by nine-wickets in their IPL8 encounter at Ahmedabad.
First, RCB gave a disciplined bowling performance to restrict Rajasthan to 130 for nine and, in the chase, they easily overhauled the target with 23 balls to spare. It was an unbeaten 98-run partnership between Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers (47) for the second wicket that resulted in handing over a second successive loss to Rajasthan Royals.
The loss of Rajasthan Royals is difficult to comprehend because they had been going great guns but, suddenly, the have begun to stumble. They have young talented players and, with Rahul Dravid as mentor, was giving chances to local boys – the strategy was working fine but it needs to be modified.

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The second of the wonderful knocks this World Cup was that of AB De Villiers in the match between South Africa and West Indies.
The Proteas captain AB de Villiers hammered 162 not out in just 66 balls to floor the West Indies. It included 17 fours and 8 sixes and was a grand show of how cricket can be played to the galleries. The fans flock to the venues to watch those magnificent sixes and applaud every shot – sometimes the runs come through flukes, sometimes due to poor fielding but, when shots are lofted high and beyond the reach of players, they are a treat to watch.
De Villiers put on the fastest ever 150 in ODI cricket - in just 64 balls – and South Africa had 408 runs on the board by the time the show ended. This is as per report in ibnlive.in.com dated 27 February 2015.
These are all Pool B matches in which India is also there – let us see if any Indian batsman can create a new record in CWC 2015.